Woodlands National Bank grows with Native American businesses

Minnesota State Roundup

For Sale: A community bank whose owners want to retire. Wanted: A way
to diversify the economy of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians and
to better serve the Native American community. Result: Woodlands National
Bank in Onamia.

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians received approval from banking
authorities earlier this year to purchase the First State Bank in Onamia
and to change from a state to a national charter. These approvals paved
the way for the creation of the first Native American-owned holding company
in the nation, and the state's only Native American-owned bank.

As the only bank in Onamia, population about 700, and one of three bank
main offices in Mille Lacs County, the bank already served a wide area.
When the owners planned to sell the bank, it was natural for them to approach
the Mille Lacs Band, a growing economic force in the area through its
ownership of two casinos, a hotel, restaurants, a convenience store, a
bakery, two schools, a clinic and two community centers. The Band's leadership
was looking for further investment opportunities and a vehicle by which
to better serve its 2,800 members, located in three communities in the
east central part of the state.

Clark Baldwin, Woodlands president, says the bank will initially update
customer products and services, such as adding ATM service and electronic
payment capabilities. Once operations are modernized, Baldwin says, the
bank wants to expand housing services, especially to the Native American
community, for example by offering home mortgage packages and by managing
the Band's housing programs. The bank has already made outreach efforts
to Band members, Baldwin says, largely in financial planning and family
budgeting sessions.

The bank has received many service inquiries from Band members who live
outside the current service area as well as from other Native Americans,
Baldwin says. "They want to do business with Native Americans and to further
the sense of community," he adds.

The bank is also exploring branching to the reservation and perhaps
to locations near Hinckley and MacGregor, where the other Mille Lacs communities
are located. And Minneapolis' American Indian community has expressed
interest in creating a relationship with the bank, Baldwin says. "We want
to try to serve the Indian community as a whole."